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Chapter 3--Joining a Group
Hika  was chilled to the bone. She sat in the sun in her classroom for the windows faced west. She wasn't cold temperature wise. She just didn't feel warm either. Her heart ached with the knowledge that there was a demon threat in the town—not just a demon threat to humans, but a threat  to her. She had remembered after those words had touched her subconscious that she'd refused to learn the skills necessary to shield her mind from any intrusion.
If he could talk to her through her mind, what was going to keep him from completely control her? She would have to learn, but not from her mother. Who else could she ask that would not in some way tell her mother and crush Hika's opportunity to show that she could do things to?
The only one she could think of was the two young men that she had met today—Kuronue and Charlie. She had already made Charlie promise not to tell anyone else about the reincarnation information or about the man from earlier. But could she trust Kuronue not to tell their mutual friend Kurama?
When the last bell of the day rang out over the school, she rose from her seat and quietly went to her locker. She was just pulling her bag out when the locker next to hers opened. When Hika turned to look at the person next to her she was surprised to find that it was Kuronue.
Well if fate isn't screaming in my face she thought, taking a better look at Kuronue for the first time that day.
He  looked relaxed and happy as he grabbed things from his locker. He was ready to get out of this place, she realized. Ducking her head so as not  to get his attention, she looked through her hair as she finished taking the stuff from her locker out. He slammed the door to his locker shut and turned to leave. His eyes brightened and he practically ran to stand next to Charlie and a girl that was also wearing the outfit of the  school. Without further ado, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. His eyes, those black-purple orbs, were dancing with magic that could only be described from Hika's point of view as being somewhere between love and friendship, as if he couldn't figure out if he loved the girl or just liked her as a friend.
Hika froze; her hand on a notebook. The cold feeling that had emanated from her soul since she'd met the man  at lunch sprang up even higher until her entire body felt like a piece of ice. As soon as she realized that she rolled her eyes and returned to  her notebook as she packed it away and closed the door to her own locker much quieter than Kuronue had his own. Slowly she moved away from  the lockers and was passing the group, her head lowered, when Charlie's  hand snuck out and grabbed her hand. She stopped in place and looked up  at Charlie, and then at Kuronue and the girl that stood behind him.
"Hika, are you going home already?" Charlie asked, his British accent becoming all the more pleasing as she heard it.
"I  was planning on it. I…" she paused for a moment and looked away before speaking softly so that only Charlie could hear. Surely he could understand being a Elemental spirit and all. "I didn't know that people normally hang out after school. And I have some bindings I really wish I  could take off." Maybe those words would get him to release her and allow her to continue on her merry-loner way.
"Why don't you hang out with us for a time? There is only so much I can stand being the third-wheel in this group. With you there, I could have someone to talk to while Kuronue snogs with Inane," Charlie told his new friend and fellow 'third wheel'.
"Yes, why don't you join us?" Inane, the girl that had been kissed by Kuronue asked, holding out a hand to greet the new girl. "I'm Inane Nore, and you must be Hika Shiroibara, right?"
Hika  looked at the extended hand to her, then at Charlie and last at Kuronue. She didn't really have that much of a choice did she? Wriggling  her hand free from Charlie's grasp she reached out, smiled and shook the hand offered to her.
"Thank you for inviting me then. Yes, you  can call me Hika. It's a pleasure to meet you Inane," Hika said with as  must happiness as she could muster at the time. Having mentioned her bindings earlier had only made her realize just how sore they were from being pinned down all day. They itched to get out, demanding her attention now. She pushed the craving to ride through the air at night under a moon and focused in on what the other three were saying.
Eventually  they lead her to a small restaurant. She stopped outside and looked up at the sign and felt her heart drop and soar at the same time. She had no money! She could excuse herself and head home without seeming to be rude. The other three were at the door, looking at her strange when she finally smiled sheepishly and tried her plan.
"Listen, I don't have any money on me. I'm just going to go home," She said, looking sheepishly at the ground and starting to turn around to leave.
"Wait,  if it's money you need, then just pay me back when you get it," Charlie  called, giving her his heart stopping smile. "I'll buy you something. As a welcome gift to our town and school. Come on Hika, don't leave. I really do want someone to talk to. And you seemed so knowledgeable. Maybe you could tell us about your family or that house you live in now."
Hika blinked and turned to look at Charlie. Plan A failed, but maybe it wouldn't be such bad thing to stay with them for a little bit. "Are you … sure Charlie?" She asked, uncertain. She'd already shared a lunch with Kuronue. She would have to pay them both back for that food.
"If he doesn't have enough I'll chip in," Inane said, being so friendly that Hika was at a loss for words. A feeling swarmed over Hika and it took her a moment, standing there in the sunlight, watching the three watch her, to realize just what it was: acceptance and friendship, a feeling of belonging.
"I'll make each of you an amazing lunch tomorrow. That's the least I could do to repay you for the  food." Hika said, smiling as she joined them at the door.
"I'll accept that." Charlie said as he motioned to the waiter that there were four people.
"So  will I! I haven't had a home cooked meal in ages. My parents want me to  buy my lunch all the time." Inane told them with a laugh as she slipped  in under Kuronue's arm to lean against him.
On their way to the restaurant, Hika had made sure not to look at Kuronue and Inane when they were being like this for it made her feel as if there was an ice demon nearby ready to freeze her body. If this was a side effect of being a reincarnation she didn't want it. She would much rather be allowed to go without this feeling of loss when she hardly even knew the  human. Which was another point-he was human. There was a high spiritual  power around him that almost tasted to her as demonic but not quite. But he wasn't a full demon.
This time however the entrance way to the restaurant was closed in by the back of booths on either side leaving only a four foot space between. Just big enough to allow the front door to slide inwards to allow customers. She was stuck standing next to Charlie, and her eyes were able to see completely the look of contentedness on both girl and boys face.
"You only owe me half a lunch Hika." Kuronue told her before leaning down to kiss the young woman under his arm on the mouth sweetly.
Her heart lurched for a moment before she beat the emotions back. I Don't even know HIM  she yelled at herself, before turning to look at Charlie and the restaurant before them. Just then the waiter returned and motioned for them to follow him back to a booth he had set up for them.
"A new face. Welcome. The usual for the rest of you?" the waiter was saying as Hika scooted into the booth on one side, allowing herself to be blocked in by Charlie who sat next to her. She put her bag up against the wall to her left as she put a polite smile on and slowly opened the menu to scan the items slowly.
"Same for us." Kuronue said, indicating Inane and himself.
"I  think I'll have my usual, and Hika, what do you want?" Charlie asked, turning his attention from the waiter to Hika, giving off the appearance  of giving all his attention to her. Hiak looked at him and then at the menu and made a snap decision the moment she saw the 'Okonomiyaki' section of the menu.
"I'll just take a cheese and shrimp okonomiyaki please," Hika told the waiter that smiled at her brightly. Then she looked at Charlie a little worried. What if it was too much? She hadn't had okonomiyaki in a long time. "If that's all right with you  Charlie. I don't want to get anything too expensive." Charlie only smiled and nodded.
"That is one of our best okonomiyaki's. I'm glad you chose it. All your orders will be here shortly. I think the cook started cooking them the moment he knew you all were outside the door." The waiter said before leaving the table to report the order.
"So  you come here often?" Hika asked with a giggle before looking down at her lap. The two across the table had started up with their cuddling again and she really didn't want to lose her appetite.
"Almost every other day during classes," Charlie answered her, turning his own attention onto her rather than the couple across from them. "Now, Miss Hika, tell me, why was your house abandoned until you moved in there? You caught my attention during class with your introduction."
Hika blinked and looked at Charlie carefully. "You… are in my class?" she asked, blushing at her ignorance. She supposed she had seen him among the people in her class, but she hadn't really put it together. Charlie laughed and nodded.
"Oh,  well, it's kind of a long story, full of hauntings and the like." Hika said, turning to look at the table again. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that the two across the table had stopped to listen as well.
"We  have time. There's food being cooked and I'm sure you can finish one story before it gets here," Inane told the young woman with a genuine smile.
"Oh, um, well, okay I guess," Hika said and quickly thought  over the story she had been told. "It all started about two hundred and  fifty years ago. There was a young woman that lived there who was named  Hiromi. I'm a direct descendant from her my mother told me, though this  story makes me wonder." Hika was trying to make it seem like just a story. After all, it included demons and a human knowing about demons wasn't good.
"Anyway, she was a troublemaker the story goes. She was always off on adventures. Some even said that she was secretly practicing to be one of the female ninja's," Hika said with a giggle. "One day she was arranged to marry a dimwitted samurai's son. She did not want to though. She wanted to have more adventures and marry someone  that could keep up both physically and mentally with her, for she was very smart some say. Either way, she vanished from her dressing room. It  wasn't like she was there one hour and then after a few hours they noticed her missing. She was sent to the room and then ten minutes later  her own mother went in to bring her out to meet her soon-to-be husband and she had completely vanished."
"What happened to her?" Inane prodded, entranced with the story already.
"No  one rightfully knows. All they know is that she returned almost a year later on her horse which had been stolen a few weeks before the previous  New Years. Nine months later she gave birth to a young girl child. It was thought that she'd been kidnapped by some bandits that had seen her and then released when she was about to go through her pregnancy for this was the story that Hiromi had spun when her mother had demanded to know what had happened to her daughter. But seeing the girl child as it lay between Hiromi's legs it was obvious what had truly happened. The baby had a set of bat wings on her back." There was a little gasp from Inane. Kuronue raised an eyebrow and watched Hika with more interest now. Charlie was grinning at the tale, finding it a very interesting rendition of the facts for a human's ears.
"Well, Hiromi's mother wanted to throw the child out and drown it in the nearest stream so that  their house would not be cursed with a half-demon child. Hiromi refused  adamantly, claiming the child was that of her dead demon lover and her only remembrance of the demon that had truly kidnapped her that day long  before. Hiromi's mother was about to slap Hiromi when the doors leading  into the birthing room were flung open and a group of all female warriors and a fox walked into the room and stood behind Hiromi. A large  black spider about the size of a platter came and sat on one side of the girl and the fox onto the other side.
"One of the women warriors sheathed her sword and proceeded to finish the preparations to cut the child from her mother, who was given the healthy looking child. She knew these demons it was said. The fox proceeded to speak to the mother of Hiromi and the midwives.
'Either you will accept the child into the household, or we will take lady Hiromi of the Bats with us and you will never see your daughter or your granddaughter again. She  will live with us where she will be treated like a queen—not some woman  that was taken advantage of by one of us.' The fox said to the humans.
"The  mother of Hiromi was furious at her daughter for having fallen into the  clutches of a demon and yelled at them to take the demon loving whore. And in a blink of an eye, Hiromi, her daughter, and the demons were gone. My family is said to have been so frightened that the demons would  return to slaughter their family that they left that same day and refused to return to the house for fear the half-demon child would remember that they had threatened to kill it and would return to kill them. And that is the very superstitious, very silly reason my family hasn't returned to the house for these last two hundred years." Hika said with a pretend bow before cracking a grin. It was all the truth after all. But Inane sitting with them didn't know that.
"That poor woman! Finding her love with a demon that was killed before he could see his child!" Inane gushed, romanticism in her blood taking over.
Hika blinked and tilted her head. "You don't actually believe the story do you?"
"Of  course not, but it's still a romantic story! Imagine falling for a guy that kidnapped you and then having to go through the pregnancy knowing that the child would be all you had left of that man? It must have been heartbreaking for this Hiromi." Inane said, adamant about the romantic aspects of the story. She took that opportunity to snuggle a little closer to Kuronue as she spoke. "And I wonder what happened to the little child. That would be an interesting story to learn."
Before Hika could reply, Charlie broke in, "So why did your mother and father decide to come back after all this time?"
Hika  blinked. Her father? She was taken by surprise. She supposed that that was a normal question right enough, but in truth she'd only met her father three times through her whole demonic life—when she'd turned one hundred, when she'd beaten Lord Yoko in a fight for the first time, and when Lord Yoko had died. He had been a bat demon that had grown up with Hika's mother. And that was all she truly knew about the man. She looked  at her lap for a moment and tried to decide on an answer.
"Well, my mother came here because she liked the house and the fact it was in a  small town. She isn't too well liked in our family and so they were glad to give her the haunted or cursed house." Hika finally said, smiling up at them, hoping they wouldn't push the thing about her father.
Mercifully, they didn't and turned to other questions about her past, such as where she grew up and what was her favorite thing to do. Well, Charlie turned to these questions. Kuronue listened while he played with Inane. However the questions stopped once their meal was provided. They were getting up to leave when a buzzing noise came from her bag. She blinked and looked in her school bag to find a compact-like device that was glowing and buzzing. She closed her eyes and tried to push the embarrassment of having such an old fashion communication device. No doubt this was one that had been used by Botan and the Spirit Detective Yusuke at one point in time. Why was Spirit World almost ten years behind in technology?
She reached into the bag and fiddled around with it without taking it out. Eventually she opened and snapped shut the device which made the buzzing and the light wink out. Rolling her eyes, Hika looked forward at the three that watched her and forced a sarcastic smile.
"Mom probably just wanted to know where I was. She can get that way, especially since we just moved here and all," She explained and the ball was moved away from  her embarrassing discovery. Once she was allowed out of the booth, Charlie had insisted on them walking her back to her home, since the sun  was starting to sink.
"And I want to see this old house of yours.  It was the local spook house for so long it's hard to imagine anyone actually living there," Charlie explained before looking at Kuronue and Inane.
"I wouldn't mind seeing it up close. I was always afraid to  go near it. I mean, there are old stories about it being haunted by the  ghost of a murdered samurai, or a ghost of a drowned woman. I could never get up the nerve to go even within a foot of the place," Inane said as she leaned against Kuronue. "What do you think Kuronue? Should we go see the old house?"
"I'm in if you are," Kuronue answered before wrapping his arm around her and leading the way out of the restaurant. Hika let them go out of the restaurant first, giving a reluctant sigh.
"Do not worry Hika. Their cuteness rubs off and you learn to ignore it." Charlie told her before motioning for her to go  first. The young demon girl wasn't sure if she wanted to know that or not.

Description

Chapter 3--Joining a Group
Hika  was chilled to the bone. She sat in the sun in her classroom for the windows faced west. She wasn't cold temperature wise. She just didn't feel warm either. Her heart ached with the knowledge that there was a demon threat in the town—not just a demon threat to humans, but a threat  to her. She had remembered after those words had touched her subconscious that she'd refused to learn the skills necessary to shield her mind from any intrusion.
If he could talk to her through her mind, what was going to keep him from completely control her? She would have to learn, but not from her mother. Who else could she ask that would not in some way tell her mother and crush Hika's opportunity to show that she could do things to?
The only one she could think of was the two young men that she had met today—Kuronue and Charlie. She had already made Charlie promise not to tell anyone else about the reincarnation information or about the man from earlier. But could she trust Kuronue not to tell their mutual friend Kurama?
When the last bell of the day rang out over the school, she rose from her seat and quietly went to her locker. She was just pulling her bag out when the locker next to hers opened. When Hika turned to look at the person next to her she was surprised to find that it was Kuronue.
Well if fate isn't screaming in my face she thought, taking a better look at Kuronue for the first time that day.
He  looked relaxed and happy as he grabbed things from his locker. He was ready to get out of this place, she realized. Ducking her head so as not  to get his attention, she looked through her hair as she finished taking the stuff from her locker out. He slammed the door to his locker shut and turned to leave. His eyes brightened and he practically ran to stand next to Charlie and a girl that was also wearing the outfit of the  school. Without further ado, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. His eyes, those black-purple orbs, were dancing with magic that could only be described from Hika's point of view as being somewhere between love and friendship, as if he couldn't figure out if he loved the girl or just liked her as a friend.
Hika froze; her hand on a notebook. The cold feeling that had emanated from her soul since she'd met the man  at lunch sprang up even higher until her entire body felt like a piece of ice. As soon as she realized that she rolled her eyes and returned to  her notebook as she packed it away and closed the door to her own locker much quieter than Kuronue had his own. Slowly she moved away from  the lockers and was passing the group, her head lowered, when Charlie's  hand snuck out and grabbed her hand. She stopped in place and looked up  at Charlie, and then at Kuronue and the girl that stood behind him.
"Hika, are you going home already?" Charlie asked, his British accent becoming all the more pleasing as she heard it.
"I  was planning on it. I…" she paused for a moment and looked away before speaking softly so that only Charlie could hear. Surely he could understand being a Elemental spirit and all. "I didn't know that people normally hang out after school. And I have some bindings I really wish I  could take off." Maybe those words would get him to release her and allow her to continue on her merry-loner way.
"Why don't you hang out with us for a time? There is only so much I can stand being the third-wheel in this group. With you there, I could have someone to talk to while Kuronue snogs with Inane," Charlie told his new friend and fellow 'third wheel'.
"Yes, why don't you join us?" Inane, the girl that had been kissed by Kuronue asked, holding out a hand to greet the new girl. "I'm Inane Nore, and you must be Hika Shiroibara, right?"
Hika  looked at the extended hand to her, then at Charlie and last at Kuronue. She didn't really have that much of a choice did she? Wriggling  her hand free from Charlie's grasp she reached out, smiled and shook the hand offered to her.
"Thank you for inviting me then. Yes, you  can call me Hika. It's a pleasure to meet you Inane," Hika said with as  must happiness as she could muster at the time. Having mentioned her bindings earlier had only made her realize just how sore they were from being pinned down all day. They itched to get out, demanding her attention now. She pushed the craving to ride through the air at night under a moon and focused in on what the other three were saying.
Eventually  they lead her to a small restaurant. She stopped outside and looked up at the sign and felt her heart drop and soar at the same time. She had no money! She could excuse herself and head home without seeming to be rude. The other three were at the door, looking at her strange when she finally smiled sheepishly and tried her plan.
"Listen, I don't have any money on me. I'm just going to go home," She said, looking sheepishly at the ground and starting to turn around to leave.
"Wait,  if it's money you need, then just pay me back when you get it," Charlie  called, giving her his heart stopping smile. "I'll buy you something. As a welcome gift to our town and school. Come on Hika, don't leave. I really do want someone to talk to. And you seemed so knowledgeable. Maybe you could tell us about your family or that house you live in now."
Hika blinked and turned to look at Charlie. Plan A failed, but maybe it wouldn't be such bad thing to stay with them for a little bit. "Are you … sure Charlie?" She asked, uncertain. She'd already shared a lunch with Kuronue. She would have to pay them both back for that food.
"If he doesn't have enough I'll chip in," Inane said, being so friendly that Hika was at a loss for words. A feeling swarmed over Hika and it took her a moment, standing there in the sunlight, watching the three watch her, to realize just what it was: acceptance and friendship, a feeling of belonging.
"I'll make each of you an amazing lunch tomorrow. That's the least I could do to repay you for the  food." Hika said, smiling as she joined them at the door.
"I'll accept that." Charlie said as he motioned to the waiter that there were four people.
"So  will I! I haven't had a home cooked meal in ages. My parents want me to  buy my lunch all the time." Inane told them with a laugh as she slipped  in under Kuronue's arm to lean against him.
On their way to the restaurant, Hika had made sure not to look at Kuronue and Inane when they were being like this for it made her feel as if there was an ice demon nearby ready to freeze her body. If this was a side effect of being a reincarnation she didn't want it. She would much rather be allowed to go without this feeling of loss when she hardly even knew the  human. Which was another point-he was human. There was a high spiritual  power around him that almost tasted to her as demonic but not quite. But he wasn't a full demon.
This time however the entrance way to the restaurant was closed in by the back of booths on either side leaving only a four foot space between. Just big enough to allow the front door to slide inwards to allow customers. She was stuck standing next to Charlie, and her eyes were able to see completely the look of contentedness on both girl and boys face.
"You only owe me half a lunch Hika." Kuronue told her before leaning down to kiss the young woman under his arm on the mouth sweetly.
Her heart lurched for a moment before she beat the emotions back. I Don't even know HIM  she yelled at herself, before turning to look at Charlie and the restaurant before them. Just then the waiter returned and motioned for them to follow him back to a booth he had set up for them.
"A new face. Welcome. The usual for the rest of you?" the waiter was saying as Hika scooted into the booth on one side, allowing herself to be blocked in by Charlie who sat next to her. She put her bag up against the wall to her left as she put a polite smile on and slowly opened the menu to scan the items slowly.
"Same for us." Kuronue said, indicating Inane and himself.
"I  think I'll have my usual, and Hika, what do you want?" Charlie asked, turning his attention from the waiter to Hika, giving off the appearance  of giving all his attention to her. Hiak looked at him and then at the menu and made a snap decision the moment she saw the 'Okonomiyaki' section of the menu.
"I'll just take a cheese and shrimp okonomiyaki please," Hika told the waiter that smiled at her brightly. Then she looked at Charlie a little worried. What if it was too much? She hadn't had okonomiyaki in a long time. "If that's all right with you  Charlie. I don't want to get anything too expensive." Charlie only smiled and nodded.
"That is one of our best okonomiyaki's. I'm glad you chose it. All your orders will be here shortly. I think the cook started cooking them the moment he knew you all were outside the door." The waiter said before leaving the table to report the order.
"So  you come here often?" Hika asked with a giggle before looking down at her lap. The two across the table had started up with their cuddling again and she really didn't want to lose her appetite.
"Almost every other day during classes," Charlie answered her, turning his own attention onto her rather than the couple across from them. "Now, Miss Hika, tell me, why was your house abandoned until you moved in there? You caught my attention during class with your introduction."
Hika blinked and looked at Charlie carefully. "You… are in my class?" she asked, blushing at her ignorance. She supposed she had seen him among the people in her class, but she hadn't really put it together. Charlie laughed and nodded.
"Oh,  well, it's kind of a long story, full of hauntings and the like." Hika said, turning to look at the table again. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that the two across the table had stopped to listen as well.
"We  have time. There's food being cooked and I'm sure you can finish one story before it gets here," Inane told the young woman with a genuine smile.
"Oh, um, well, okay I guess," Hika said and quickly thought  over the story she had been told. "It all started about two hundred and  fifty years ago. There was a young woman that lived there who was named  Hiromi. I'm a direct descendant from her my mother told me, though this  story makes me wonder." Hika was trying to make it seem like just a story. After all, it included demons and a human knowing about demons wasn't good.
"Anyway, she was a troublemaker the story goes. She was always off on adventures. Some even said that she was secretly practicing to be one of the female ninja's," Hika said with a giggle. "One day she was arranged to marry a dimwitted samurai's son. She did not want to though. She wanted to have more adventures and marry someone  that could keep up both physically and mentally with her, for she was very smart some say. Either way, she vanished from her dressing room. It  wasn't like she was there one hour and then after a few hours they noticed her missing. She was sent to the room and then ten minutes later  her own mother went in to bring her out to meet her soon-to-be husband and she had completely vanished."
"What happened to her?" Inane prodded, entranced with the story already.
"No  one rightfully knows. All they know is that she returned almost a year later on her horse which had been stolen a few weeks before the previous  New Years. Nine months later she gave birth to a young girl child. It was thought that she'd been kidnapped by some bandits that had seen her and then released when she was about to go through her pregnancy for this was the story that Hiromi had spun when her mother had demanded to know what had happened to her daughter. But seeing the girl child as it lay between Hiromi's legs it was obvious what had truly happened. The baby had a set of bat wings on her back." There was a little gasp from Inane. Kuronue raised an eyebrow and watched Hika with more interest now. Charlie was grinning at the tale, finding it a very interesting rendition of the facts for a human's ears.
"Well, Hiromi's mother wanted to throw the child out and drown it in the nearest stream so that  their house would not be cursed with a half-demon child. Hiromi refused  adamantly, claiming the child was that of her dead demon lover and her only remembrance of the demon that had truly kidnapped her that day long  before. Hiromi's mother was about to slap Hiromi when the doors leading  into the birthing room were flung open and a group of all female warriors and a fox walked into the room and stood behind Hiromi. A large  black spider about the size of a platter came and sat on one side of the girl and the fox onto the other side.
"One of the women warriors sheathed her sword and proceeded to finish the preparations to cut the child from her mother, who was given the healthy looking child. She knew these demons it was said. The fox proceeded to speak to the mother of Hiromi and the midwives.
'Either you will accept the child into the household, or we will take lady Hiromi of the Bats with us and you will never see your daughter or your granddaughter again. She  will live with us where she will be treated like a queen—not some woman  that was taken advantage of by one of us.' The fox said to the humans.
"The  mother of Hiromi was furious at her daughter for having fallen into the  clutches of a demon and yelled at them to take the demon loving whore. And in a blink of an eye, Hiromi, her daughter, and the demons were gone. My family is said to have been so frightened that the demons would  return to slaughter their family that they left that same day and refused to return to the house for fear the half-demon child would remember that they had threatened to kill it and would return to kill them. And that is the very superstitious, very silly reason my family hasn't returned to the house for these last two hundred years." Hika said with a pretend bow before cracking a grin. It was all the truth after all. But Inane sitting with them didn't know that.
"That poor woman! Finding her love with a demon that was killed before he could see his child!" Inane gushed, romanticism in her blood taking over.
Hika blinked and tilted her head. "You don't actually believe the story do you?"
"Of  course not, but it's still a romantic story! Imagine falling for a guy that kidnapped you and then having to go through the pregnancy knowing that the child would be all you had left of that man? It must have been heartbreaking for this Hiromi." Inane said, adamant about the romantic aspects of the story. She took that opportunity to snuggle a little closer to Kuronue as she spoke. "And I wonder what happened to the little child. That would be an interesting story to learn."
Before Hika could reply, Charlie broke in, "So why did your mother and father decide to come back after all this time?"
Hika  blinked. Her father? She was taken by surprise. She supposed that that was a normal question right enough, but in truth she'd only met her father three times through her whole demonic life—when she'd turned one hundred, when she'd beaten Lord Yoko in a fight for the first time, and when Lord Yoko had died. He had been a bat demon that had grown up with Hika's mother. And that was all she truly knew about the man. She looked  at her lap for a moment and tried to decide on an answer.
"Well, my mother came here because she liked the house and the fact it was in a  small town. She isn't too well liked in our family and so they were glad to give her the haunted or cursed house." Hika finally said, smiling up at them, hoping they wouldn't push the thing about her father.
Mercifully, they didn't and turned to other questions about her past, such as where she grew up and what was her favorite thing to do. Well, Charlie turned to these questions. Kuronue listened while he played with Inane. However the questions stopped once their meal was provided. They were getting up to leave when a buzzing noise came from her bag. She blinked and looked in her school bag to find a compact-like device that was glowing and buzzing. She closed her eyes and tried to push the embarrassment of having such an old fashion communication device. No doubt this was one that had been used by Botan and the Spirit Detective Yusuke at one point in time. Why was Spirit World almost ten years behind in technology?
She reached into the bag and fiddled around with it without taking it out. Eventually she opened and snapped shut the device which made the buzzing and the light wink out. Rolling her eyes, Hika looked forward at the three that watched her and forced a sarcastic smile.
"Mom probably just wanted to know where I was. She can get that way, especially since we just moved here and all," She explained and the ball was moved away from  her embarrassing discovery. Once she was allowed out of the booth, Charlie had insisted on them walking her back to her home, since the sun  was starting to sink.
"And I want to see this old house of yours.  It was the local spook house for so long it's hard to imagine anyone actually living there," Charlie explained before looking at Kuronue and Inane.
"I wouldn't mind seeing it up close. I was always afraid to  go near it. I mean, there are old stories about it being haunted by the  ghost of a murdered samurai, or a ghost of a drowned woman. I could never get up the nerve to go even within a foot of the place," Inane said as she leaned against Kuronue. "What do you think Kuronue? Should we go see the old house?"
"I'm in if you are," Kuronue answered before wrapping his arm around her and leading the way out of the restaurant. Hika let them go out of the restaurant first, giving a reluctant sigh.
"Do not worry Hika. Their cuteness rubs off and you learn to ignore it." Charlie told her before motioning for her to go  first. The young demon girl wasn't sure if she wanted to know that or not.